The hottest pepper in the world as of 2025 is Pepper X, with an average Scoville Heat Unit (SHU) rating of about 2.69 million and peaks over 3 million SHU. It was bred by Ed Currie, who also developed the Carolina Reaper. Pepper X surpassed the Carolina Reaper, which held the record previously with up to 2.2 million SHU. Pepper X is recognized by Guinness World Records as the hottest pepper and is known for its extreme heat, but its seeds have not been released for public growing or tasting.
